yji 




SPEECH 

-ok ' 






MAJ.GEN'L C.C.WASHBURN 



'i^ ' 



—AT THE- 



GAYOSO HOUSE, 



-ON TIIE- 



OCCASION OF HIS EECBPTION. 



KY THE CITIZENS OF MEMPHIS, 



i)N HI8 RESUMING COMMAND. 



MARCH 8Tn, 1865 



PUBLISHED BV REtiUPIST. 



\ROCS STEAM BOOK AND JOB PRINT, NO. 222 SECOND STREET 



1865. 



^y 



SPEECH 

-or- 

MAJ. GEN'L C. C. WASHBURN 

—AT THE- 

GAYOSO HOUSE, 

-ON TEE- 
OCCASION OF HIS KECEPTION. 

BY Xlli: CITIZENS OF MEMPHIS, 

/ 

^ ON HIS RESUMING COMMAND. 

MARCH 8TH, 1865. 



PUBLISHED B? REQUEST. 



ARGirS STKAM BOOK AND JOB PRINT, NO. 222 SlCeND 8TRMT 
1865. 




^6' 3 1 



CORRESPONDENCE. 

Memphis, March 9, 1865. 

To Mni. a en' I C. C. WASHBURN. Commanding District 
of West Tennessee. 

G KNERAL : 

Believing the policy indicated in your speech at the 
Gayoso House last evening to be the true policy to encour- 
age genuine loyalty and sustain legitimate business, and 
desiring that all West Tennessee should know the liberal 
sentiments felt towards those who will properly appreciate 
such liberalit}', wo respectfully request a copy of your re- 
marks for a more complete publication than was possible 
for the reporter to furnish. 

Yours, very respectfullj- : 

PiTSKR Miller. Jno. W. Leftwich. Wm. M. Farrixgton. 
W. E. Moore. I. M. Hill. A. P. Burditt. 

M. S. Brooks. J. E. Merriman. B. Graham. 



Head-Quarters District West Tennessee, \ 
Memphis, March 9, 1865. J 

Mesars J. W. Zefticich, W. M. Farringfon.. W. JR. Moore, 

I. M. Hill and others. 
Gentlemen: 

Your note of this date, asking a copy of iny remarks of 
last evening, has been received. I will cheerfully comply 
with your request and furnish you a copy at as early a 
moment as I can find time to write them out. 

Very respectfully, Your obedient servant : 

V. C. WASHBUEN, 
Major- General. 



•w> 



THE SECOND REGULAR TOAST. 

The guest of the evening, Major General C. C. Washburn. No less 
distinguished in the fit-Id and in the HhU of Legislation than in 
the walks of privat'? life. By an impartial, just and liberal course 
in his high olEci.-il capacity, he has endeared himself to all classes 
and conditions of our citizens. 



In response Majoi* General Washburn arose and said : 

Mr. President and Gentlemen : 

I lack words to give expression to the emotions that 
overwhelm me. To be the recipient of such an ovation as 
this, on my return to the scene of my former duties may 
well embarrass me and render it difficult to know what to 
say. It is always so hard for me to say sensible things, 
and particularly so now that I have been so long out of 
the habit of speaking, that I hardly dare trust myself to 
speak at all, for fear that I should say something that my 
deliberate judgement would not approve, and I am almost 
tempted to ask you to excuse me with a simple expression 
of my most profound and grateful thanks. But I know 
that you expect something more, therefore begging your 
kind indulgence for the ill expressed and disjointed re- 
marks that I may make, I will endeavor to comply as well 
as I may with your expectatipns. 

The position of commander in a large commercial city 
like this, governed by martial law, is, at the best, most em- 
barrassing. Unfortunately, so it is that the pecuniary inter- 
ests of most of the inhabitants, however loyal, are in antag- 
onism, with the interest of the Government. To repress 
that antagonism and control conflicting interests and to 
settle unpleasant troubles that may arise among citizens 



is one of his most disagreeable duties, and if he shall suc- 
ceed, in the discharge of that class of duties, in retaining the 
good will of the citizens, and retain at the same time, the con- 
fidence of the Government he serves, he is indeed fortunate. 

In the discharge of my responsible and often delicate 
duties, here, I believe there is no one that will say of me 
that my first duty was not always to my Government, and 
that no private interest was ever permitted to stand in the 
Avay of the public welfare. Duty to my Government be- 
ing discharged, it was always my study to do as little harm 
and as much good to the citizen as was consistent with my 
position and the obligations resting upon mc. I have never 
hesitated to do any cict that I thought proper to be done 
because it might raise a clamor, or might be prcjudical to 
private interests. Nor will it be said that I ever made use 
of the almost absolute power that I possessed to oppress 
any one. Military law is to be dreaded under even the most 
favorable circumstances, and particularly so when it is en- 
trusted either to weak, wicked or unjust hands; and I can 
conceive of no condition more deplorable than that of a 
community whose lives, whose foi'tunes and whose sacred 
honor are placed in the power of such a man. Military 
power is not to be wielded for purposes of oppression. A 
magnanimous mind scorns such a use of power, nor will a 
brave man exult over a fallen and prostrate foe, or unneces- 
sarily add aflliction to the afflicted. If, while I was before 
in command here, it became necessary for me to adopt 
some measures which seemed harsh or unusual, I believe 
that they were all fully vindicated by their success. The 
occasion which called them forth has passed away. They 
served their end in their day, let them now be forgotten. 

If the position which I occupied when here before was 
difficult, I fear it will be equally so now. The new regu- 
lations in regard to trade from the Treasury Department, 
arc very embarrassing to the military, but I shall endeavor 
to execute the general policy of the Government on the 
subject, so far as I understand it, and I deem it not im- 



proper here to say, that the time has come when we may 
treat the people of West Tennessee and North Mississippi 
in a spii'it of kindness and forbearance. I do not snppose 
that there is an intelligent man in West Tennessee, or even 
in all rebeldom, who dees not know that the Southern Con- 
federacy is "played out," and is an utter failure, and that 
such a thing as any other Government than the Govern- 
ment of the United States is simply impossible. 

Such being the fact, we can aftbi'd to be magnanimous 
and forgiving towards the mass, who have been by wicked, 
cruel and ambitious men, seduced from the paths of duty 
and involved in ruin. I wish that I could speak to every 
disloyal man in West Tennessee, and even that my voice 
might be heard beyond these narrow limits, and entreat 
the disloj^al everywhere no longer to strive with his gov- 
ernment, but accept as inevitable the present condition of 
things, and pi'epare to make the best of it. To this con- 
clusion they must come at last, and I would beg of them 
by every consideration tending to their own welfare and 
the welfare of those near and dear to them, to no longer 
delay, but to return to their first love, and again take shel- 
ter under the glorious Stars and Stripes. 

To those "who have the disposition to return home to 
their families and friends, I say that I shall 

" Make no deep scrutiny 

Into their mutiny, 

Rash and undutiful.' 

The spring time of the year has come again, the plow 
rusts in the fuiTOW, and without the labor of the husband- 
man famine must overspread this land, so long desolated 
by the tramp of armies. But peace and quiet will soon 
remedy all this, and so elastic is the character of the Ameri- 
can people that the traces of this bloody struggle will soon 
be obliterated, and with a new order of things, with liberty 
crowning our efforts in this mighty conflict the advance 
in wealth, population and refinement will be such as the 
world never saw. You have a country and a climate 



8 

which •• paragons the world," and, as in admiration 
and sorrow we look upon it, we have been forced to ex- 
claim : 

'■ Oh Clirist ! it is a goodly sight to see 
"What heaven has done for this delicious land ; 

What fruits of fragrance blush on ever}- tree, 
"What glorious prospects o'er its hills expand. 

But man mars it with an impious hand." 

I predict that ten years will not elapse before those who 
"bless the tyrant, and who hug the chain'" will sing Glory 
Hallelujah over its redemption, and find it fifty years in ad- 
vance of what it was at the beginning of the war, and will 
wonder how it was possible that their eyes could ever be 
so dimmed by the scales of injustice and error. 

Let then these veterans from the <• climes of the sun, all 
war-worn and weary," who have fought as only Americans 
can fight, and worthy of a nobler and better cause, accept 
what is inevitable, and returning to their homes, beat 
their swords into plough-shares and their spears into 
yruning-hooks, and practice war no more. 

I know that it is a question which troubles some as to 
what should be done with the people who havebejn guilty 
of this great sin, and some there, perhaps, we who would 
delight to see this carnival of blood go on until the last 
rebel fills a dishonored and a traitors grave. "With them 
there is no styptic to staunch the wounds of crushed and 
bleeding humanity short of annihilation. With them there 
is "no balm in Gilead — no physcian there." "With these 
men (and thank God, I believe they are few) I have no 
sympathy. 

No punishment that we can inflict can restore life to the 
hundreds of thousands that have fallen in this struggle, or 
wipe away the widow's tears or soothe the orphans cry, 
and I hesitate not to declare as my opinion, that we should 
inflct no greater and further punishment than is demanded 
by the National safety. Great God ! have they not been 
punished as no other people were ever punished since 
Christ wept over Jerusalem — aye, since "God said let their 



be light?" Look at their desolated hearthstones, their 
ruined towns, their blasted fields, and tell me then if you 
will that they have not been adequately punished. Their 
crime was great and their punishment has indeed been 
great, and they may well exclaim with Cain, '-Our pun- 
ishment is greater than we can bear." 

I pretend to speak for no one but myself. I do not regard 
it as becoming for military men to be making speeches, and 
this is the first time, since the war begun, that I have been 
guilty of such imprudence, but in view of the utterly pros- 
trate and helpless condition of this people, I declare that, 
in my judgment, our great and good Government can af- 
ford to be merciful, magnanimous, ard more than just. 

" The qrality of mercy is not strained ; 

It droppeth as the gpntla rain from Eeaven 

Upon the earth beneath. It is twicn blessed, 

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes, 

'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it hocomes 

The throned monarch b tterthan his crown. 

His so ptre shows the force of temporal power, 

The attribute to awp, and mnjesty 

"Whereon doth sit the dread and fear of kings. 

But mercy is above his scept^^ri d sway ; 

it is enthroned in the h'^art of kings ; 

it is an attribute of God him-%lf, 

And earthly power doth then show likcst God 

"When mercy seasons justice." — 

Every consideration of christian charity, and every con- 
sideration of public policy requires that we should be most, 
forbearing, and should pray that all remembrance of this 
unhappy struggle should be buried in the waters of obliv- 
ion, deeper than plummet sounds. As illustrative of this 
spirit of brotherly kindness, I call to mind an instance in 
English and French history, a story, which I remember to 
have read in an old school book when I was a boy, so long 
ago that I hardly dare to think how long, lest I should be 
reminded that I am older than I once was, but I may safely 
say, that it is at least thir^ years since I read it, and my 
memory may not enable me to relate the story with histor- 
ical accuracy, but as near as I can I will do so : 

Edward the III, of England, after the Battle of Cressy, 



10 

laid siege to Calais. The city was beleaguered by a large 
force, but was defended Avitb great bravery and determi- 
nation. But after many months of seige it became appa- 
rent that what the army of Edward could not accomplish 
would be accomplished by famine, and the beseiged were 
finally reduced to the last extremity, and it was certain 
that they must capitulate. Their resistance had been 
heavy and stubborn, and much apprehension was felt in 
regard to obtaining terms. Negotiations were however 
opened, and Edward sent a noble knight, Sir Walter 
Manny, to inform the Governor of the city that he would 
accept of its surrender on condition that he would deliver 
up six of the first citizens of Calais for execution, who 
were to bo led to his presence barefooted, and with halters 
around thoir necks. When the terms were made known, 
there was for a time wailing in Calais, but not long, for 
almost immediately a prominent citizen by the name of 
Eustace St Pierre, volunteered as one of the six Avho were 
to appease the wrath of Edward, and save the doomed 
city, and soon the whole number had volunteered, when 
struck with admiration at the conduct of those noble men, 
Sir Walter exclaimed, "Alas ! v/hy was I not a citizen of 
Calais." 

The victims were led to Edward's presence, barefooted 
and with halters around their necks, according to the 
terms, and as they passed between the long lines of Eng- 
lish soldiers, the spectacle was one of such tender sublimity, 
that the whole army was moved to tears. As they reached 
the headquarters of the King, he rudely accosted Sir Wal- 
ter, and demanded to know if he was certain that they 
were the first citizens of Calais ? " Yes," responded the 
Knight — '• they are not only the first citizens of Calais, but 
they are the first citizens of France," and he volunteered 
some words to show why their lives should be spared, But 
he was radely repulsed, and told to go and lead them to 
instant execution. At this moment the Queen Phillippia, 
whose beauty was said to be equalled only by her virtue 



11 

and goodness, learning what was transpiring, appeared 
before her husband and besought him to spare the lives of 
those devoted men. She reminded the King of the glory 
of his reign and the splendor of his achievements which 
the whole world then acknowledged, and begged him by 
every consideration of honor to spare their lives, and fi- 
nally by the use of those arts of persuasion which woman 
so well knows how to use, caused him not only to relent 
from his purpose, but to dismiss them, loaded with pres- 
ents. Then it was that the noble St. Pierre, who was will- 
ing to give up his life a martyr to his country, burst into 
tears and exclaimed : " Alas, my country, it is now that I 
for the first time fear for thee. Edward only wins our 
cities ; Phillippia conquers hearts." 

The accursed cause of this rebellion is wiped out, and 
forever, and we may safely proclaim an amnesty to the 
most of the participants of the rebellion. There are a few 
that should be sent into exile or imprisoned in some penal 
colony, fl^' the national safety would be endangered were 
they to remain in the country. Those who left our halls ' 
of Congress, and those who deserted from our array and 
navy might safely be included in that class. I fear that 
we do not always make the allowance wo ought for many 
who have been engaged in this strife; at least one-half 
have been drawn into it against their will and judgement 
by "stern oppression's iron gi*ip, and mad ambition's gory 
hand." 

Perhaps they did not resist as tliej- ought, for while 
they had actually the numbers the traitors had the noise 
and clamor. I think that it is iEsop who tells us that a 
single frog croaking in a pond will make more noise than 
a dozen fat bullocks grazing upon its margin. The noise 
and clamor being with the enemies of the Union, they 
were able finally to sweep nil before them, and to resist 
the current was impossible. The trath is, the whole peo- 
ple finally became afflicted with a species of moral insan- 
ity, and were incapable of rational action. As the acute 



12 

mania ^ives way to calmer moods "sve should avail ourselves 
of cveiy opportunity to dispel the fatal delusions that have 
nearly worked theii" ruin. 

The expressions which I have just given utterance to 
may surprise some. That I, who have always been known, 
when known at all, as an anti-slavery man, (which with 
many is the synonym of the enemy of the South) should 
after all our sacrinices, after all the rebel atrocities, and 
after the starving so many thousands of our brave defen- 
ders in Southern prisons, have this feeling, may be unex- 
pected. It may seem strange. This war has developed 
many strange things, and not the least so, is to. find men 
who were always in opposition to me, and who, by their 
actions, greatly contributed to mislead the people of the 
South, by a single bound placing themselves so far in ad- 
vance of me that I almost lose my identity. These are 
tie men who arc most inexorable and unforgiving. 

It is no tim 3 to discuss the questions involved in this 
war. They have been settled not by discussions but by 
the sword ; but as I scorn to acquire the good opinion of 
any man by concealipg my own, and as it might be sup- 
posed that here in this strong pro-slavery community I 
had a set of opinions for this latitude, I beg your momen- 
tary indulgence to set everybody right. You have been 
pleased to allude to my services in the councils of the na- 
tion. They were not distinguished, but such as they 
wer:^, I am not ashamed of them. You all .have some re- 
collection of the last session of Congress under Mr. Bu- 
chanan's administration, and the many efforts to save the 
Union by legislative nostrums. Among the devices was 
raised a committee, consisting of thirty-three members, 
one from each State., to devise ways and means b}' which 
the Union could be kept together. 

I had the honor of being a member of that committee, 
which was in session quite a long time. A majority of the 
committee was comijosed of members of the party to which 
I belono-ed, which party was opposed to the extension of 



13 

slavery. The committee was in session for many weeks, 
and many were the plans discussed by which the Union 
was to be saved ; and so great was the disposition to yield 
to southern domination and degrading exactions, that a 
majority of the committee actually agreed upon a set of 
measures which passed Congress, of which I presume 
some gentlemen will not thank me for reviving the recol- 
lection. Among the measures was one which proposed a 
constitutional amendment, under which slavery was to be 
made perpetual, or at least putting it out of the power of 
the people of any free State e\ er to propose a constitutional 
amendment affecting slavery ;* and no proposition on that 
subject could ever be made, unless it came from a slave 
State. As we had then fifteen slave States, and as no con- 
stitutional amendment could bo ratified without a majority 
of three-fourths of the States ; it was thus evident that it 
would require sixty States in the Union before a change 
in the constitution could be afi'ected. Yet our friends were 
swift to give them the constitutional guarranty which I 
have named, and it was reported by the committee and 
passed Congress. 

I have not time to dwell on tliis subject as I would like, 
if I had not already troubled you so long, but I wish to say 
that I did not concur in the action of a majority of the 
committee, but made a minority report, which I could find 
but one member to join me in ; wherein it was declared 
that our constitution was good enough as our fathers made 
it, and needed to be obeyed rather than amended. I stand 
by that report to-day, and if I can find the congressional 
documents of that session in Memphis, I will ask the news- 
papers to publish it, that no one may have any excuse for 
misunderstanding my position. 

Principles cannot be compromised, and the man who at- 
tempts it, prevaricates with God and his own conscience. 
I am the same kind of anti -slaver}' man that I have ever 
been. My beau ideal of a statesman was glorious old 
Harry Clay, and as he said during the compromise discus- 



14 

sidns of 1850, that no earthly power could induce him " to 
ever vote for the extension of slavery over territory then 
free;" I, following him "with unequal stepr?, echoed the sen- 
timent. I never sought to interfere with slavery where it 
existed, regarding it as no affair of mine, and for which I 
was not responsible, but was content to leave the evil with 
those who had it, and for them to manage as in their 
judgement they thought best. I did not believe that I had 
the right so to interfere with it, and I may say, that this 
was almost the unanimous opinion of the people of the 
Xorth, but believing it to be a great moral social and po 
litical evil and the greatest curse that ever befel any nation 
or people, I felt bound to do all I constitutionally could do 
to prevent its extension into free territories. Our offence 
bath this extent no more. But before I close, I doubt not 
you wish to hear something more definite on questions of 
trade, in which this city is so deeply interested. Pres- 
ently you will know all that thi-ough the medium of mili- 
tary orders, which I hope will be satisfactory. I say to the 
thonorable merchants and business men that you will find 
me ready to extend to j^ou all the privileges consisten, 
with my duty to the Government to grant, and I know 
that you want no more. To such as are not disposed to 
do a legitimate business or conform to necessary orders 
(and here let me say that 1 do not intend to vex the peo- 
ple with frivolous or oppressive orders, or to unnecessarily 
remind them that they are under military rule,) but en- 
deavor to carry on contraband or dishonest' traffic, let me 
say that they will find me, as they have ever found me 
their bitter and unrelenting fo'j. 

To see Civil Government restored, and peace reigning 
throughout all our borders, is the ardent desire of my 
heart ; and happy will be the day to me when I can return 
to the walks of civil life, with a hand unstained by any act of 
cruelty or plunder, and engage once more in the pursuits 
of peace. I am neither by instinct or education, a soldier j 
^ut I am a soldier solely from a solemn sense of duty to a 



15 

Government under which, in common with others, I have 
enjoj^ed a degree of prosperity and honor greater than I 
could have enjoyed under any other Government on earth. 
Of our Government and people I am now more proud than 
ever, and the title of American citizen is a prouder title 
than other Government can bestow. But, as the war ap- 
proache.9 to a conclusion, there are new duties and obliga- 
tions that will be forced upon you, which, if you neglect, 
God will not hold you guiltless. The cry of the widow 
and the orphan must not go unheeded ; nor may you forget 
the down -trodden and despised race, who, by this war, 
have been endowed with the priceless boon of liberty, and 
I trust that you will read your duty not more in your incli- 
nations, than in the language of Him who declared that " in- 
asmuch as ye did it not to the least of my brethren, ye did 
it not unto me." 

The condition of affairs in West Tennessee is now such 
that a liberal policy, I think, may be tried and I say to 
the people that so long as they discourage the armed bands 
of the enemy from coming among them, it will give me 
pleasure to lend them a helping hand. It affords mc no 
satisfaction to add one drop to the cup of sorrow which 
they have been compelled to drink even to the very dregs. 
I regard the insurgents as at our mercj", and I hope they 
will not render necessary the further shedding of blood, 
but set themselves earnestly to work to repair damages. 
The past is secure and cannot be changed or altered. The 
present moment is your own, see that you improve it. 

Sad, indeed, would be our condition if after all our sac- 
rifices, we had nothing to show for them but the thousands 
of nameless graves which dot the surface of the earth from 
Gettysburg to the Kio-Grande. Thank God, wo have a 
country redeemed, regenerated and disenthralled, by the 
genius of universal emancipation, which shall live forever. 
But though no marble marks the place where sleep our 
brave defenders, their memories shall long be kept fresh 
in our souls. What avail the monuments of brass or 



16 

of atone! IJou raise the statue of marble, it is cold and 
lifeless ; Time clasps it, and it is dust in his hands ; but 
their statues ai*e man — living, feeling, adoring man, bear- 
ing the image of his Maker, having the impress of the 
Divinity. 

But I have protracted my remarks P.lready to too great 
a length, and will close with a reiteration of the confidence 
that I have in our dear country, and that the good old 
Ship of State will be able to weather every storm, and be 
guided safely into port, and 

" In spite of rocks and tempest's roar, 

In spite of false lights on the shore, 

Sail on ; nor fear to brea-t the spa ; 

Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee, 

Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears. 

Our faith triumphant o'er our f.'ar,«, 

Are all with thee! are all with the ■ ' 

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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